Various types of holders for bottles, such as bottles for holding water or other fluids are known. For convenience, these various bottle types will be referred to as water bottles, although it is to be understood that such bottles may be used to hold other types of fluids and materials. Water bottles are often used by a person during an exercise session or at other times.
Examples of water bottle holders are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,494,248 and 4,345,704. Each of these prior water bottle holders suffers from various drawbacks. One drawback of some prior water bottle holders is that they require a rigid mounting bracket. This is undesirable for several reasons, including cost, the need to mechanically secure the rigid bracket, the difficulty in moving the water bottle from one structure to another (e.g. one piece of exercise equipment to another). Other drawbacks also exist.